A Proposal Perfect in its Own Way
by monique95
Summary: Clarke finds a ring in Bellamy's tent. She doesn't think she deserves him though. He convinces her otherwise. AU and set in season 5. Bellarke established.


**Hey friends!**

 **This is just a one shot about Clarke finding a ring in Bellamy's tent. It's a little AU but I tried not to change the nature of the characters too much.**

 **It's set in a hypothetical season five.**

 **I hope you like it and criticism is always encouraged. uh.**

 **Thanks.**

Clarke wandered into Bellamy's tent in the middle of Arkadia. She had been in the medical tent all day with her mother and she hoped to steal a few minutes alone with Bell before she had to return. She knew he'd gone hunting this morning but it was just past noon and she figured he was back by now.

She lifted the flaps of his tent, she expected to find him napping after his trip, but found the tent empty. Huh. Maybe he was hanging out with Monty or Raven. She would have to settle for some time alone tonight. She turned to leave before stopping in her tracks.

A small glint of metal had caught her eye. The item must have caught the few rays of sunlight that had crept in through the opening of the tent. Curiously; she moved towards the object to investigate.

It's was dirty looking off- gold ring with an antique looking blue stone. It was beautiful. Bellamy must have found it. Clarke wondered what he was doing with it.

She mulled it over for a second, wondering why he had kept the ring until one thought made her gasp and freeze. She dropped the ring in shock and immediately moved to pick it up again.

Was the ring for her? Was he going to propose? Maybe it was a gift for Octavia? Did she even want him to propose?

She cast that thought away as soon as it entered her mind. She would love nothing more if she spent the rest of her life with him. She loved him. She would say yes in a heartbeat if that was the only point to consider.

But it wasn't. She had hurt him so much; did she really deserve to be the one who got to spend the rest of her life with him.

She always tried to do right by him; tried to keep him safe and happy. However, for as many good times they had, there were double the amount of occasions where she failed or hurt him. He always forgave her of course. He never had it in him to stay angry at her for too long. His heart was just too big. Forgiving herself for hurting him though, was another matter. She loved him more than anything in the world but she'd never forgive herself for the many times she put him in danger or hurt him. She left him after Mount Weather, sent him on a dangerous mission in the very placed that had drained him of his blood upside down, aimed a gun at him when he was just trying to save his sister and left him to grieve alone after murdering three hundred people. She hung her head in shame. She didn't deserve him. He had always been so good to her, never did a thing wrong and she did so much wrong.

Clarke's looked back at the ring. This belonged to someone that treated him better.

Her musing were interrupted by the sound of approaching footsteps. She rushed to return the ring to its original spot by the top of their bed, beside their books, but she heard someone enter the tent before she had a chance.

"Clarke," Bellamy called. She didn't turn around but she'd recognise his voice anywhere. He started to smile at her in greeting but his smile froze halfway when he'd seen the object in her fingertips. Her ring.

He watched her, eyeing her wordlessly for a second. She looked frozen, lying on her stomach across their blankets, her arms outstretched with the ring in her fingers. She was trying to put the right back before he noticed. She seemed to snap of her frozen state after a moment and putting the ring down in its original spot before sitting up and moving to meet him at the entrance of the tent.

"Hey," she said brightly as she reached up to caress his cheek.

Bellamy glanced down at the ring by the bed and then at Clarke's face before responding. He took a second to decide which point he wanted to broach first. He decided to start with the one that brought him here.

"Your mum said you were looking for me?" he asked.

"Oh yeah, just thought I would con you into spending some time with me before I had to go back to the medical tent," she teased, trying to pass of her tone as casual in a sad attempt to make him forget about the fact she had found his ring. It was clearly a long shot but she wasn't giving up yet.

"How was your hunt?" she asked. She took his hands and sat cross- legged on the floor. She hoped he would follow suit and just let the topic drop. No such luck.

He did sit down in front of her but there was no chance he would let this go. He looked at her incredulously for a second before letting out a short, amused laugh.

"Clarke, do you really think I'm going to forget about the ring?" he asked slowly. His eyes were sparkling with amusement and fondness. His silly princess.

She sighed as though her fool- proof plan had been foiled. Less fool- proof more foolish, she realised.

She took a deep breathe before she spoke. She lifted her head to meet his and found an anxious look on his face. He thought she would say no, she realised.

"Bell, you know I love you," he nodded, "I would say yes in a heartbeat if that's all there was to it," she started.

He started to respond but she held her finger up to stop him. She needed to get this out. Clarke made sure he was met her eyes before continuing. Upon seeing his apprehension deepen she reached out to cradle his face in her hands, hoping to soothe his worries.

"But I've hurt you so much, I don't think I deserve you."

She finished with her head down, too scared to see the expression on his face. His eyes would undoubtedly have held endless understanding and love. She didn't deserve his understanding though.

"Hey, look at me," he implored her but she'd still refused to meet his eyes.

"Clarke," he repeated, firmer this time, somewhere between a plead and an instruction. She did lift her head to look at him this time but there was shame and uncertainty in her eyes. Bellamy realised she hadn't forgiven herself at all for her prior actions, even though everyone else had. They all understood she'd had to make tough decisions to survive.

"We've both made mistakes and I've forgiven you for yours, you know that," he told her softly, a gentle look in his eyes.

"I pulled that lever on Mount Weather too and I killed those sleeping grounders. I'm not innocent here."

"I was the one that sent you to Mount Weather where you were hung upside down and had your blood taken," she cried desperately. He almost died because of her.

"Princess, we've both made bad calls but that doesn't change the fact that I love you more than anything, none of that will," he explained softly. His use of the nickname was deliberate here. What once had been an insult had turned into an affectionate tease that had usually made her smile. He certainly wanted to achieve that right now.

"Nothing that you've done to _save_ us makes me want to marry you any less," he finished, as he put an emphasis on the word 'save'. She had made some bad moves but it was always with the best of intentions. Him too. It's wasn't easy being a leader.

They stared at each other for a long moment. Him; as he tried to show her how much she meant to him through his gentle expression. Her; as she studied his face for any sign of indecision or left- over hurt her actions have caused. His words were genuine. He had forgiven her.

"You need to forgive yourself. I could help you. We could do it together." He was right. She couldn't erase the past but she would learn from it.

"Okay," she agreed with a soft smile.

He nodded in return kissing her forehead.

Then he moved suddenly. He wordlessly crawled up to their makeshift bed to pick up the forgotten ring, something he had found while he walked in the woods.

Bellamy returned to his spot in front of Clarke, he sat back down. He would have knelt but it didn't fit the mood. It just wasn't them. Bellamy lifted and held Clarke's hand.

"So, what do you say, Princess, will you marry me?".

His tone was teasing but his eyes held a soft sincerity. She let out a soft, surprised laugh at his delivery. She didn't need a big speech or him on bended knee, this was much more like the Bellamy she knew.

"Yeah Bell, I'll marry you,"

He smiled widely at her, unable to contain his happiness. She smiled back and leaned up on her knees to kiss him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer. After a moment she pulled away, just far enough to look at his face.

"You're going to have this cleaned, right?" she teased him.

He shook his head at her with a chuckle and pulled her into an embrace, his neck burred in her neck as he felt her do the same.

The moment was perfect in its own way. A perfectly imperfect proposal.


End file.
